Q&A

Should I take my dress shirts to the cleaners?

Should I take my dress shirts to the cleaners?

While we don’t really recommend dry cleaning cotton dress shirts, some folks like to take their shirts to the cleaners and have them dry cleaned. While this cleaning method will certainly not damage the shirt and minimize shrinkage, it does have some downsides. Minimizes wear of the shirts. Removes oil-based stains.

How do you wash a dress shirt without ruining the collar?

Machine Washing Dress Shirts Is A-OK…

  1. Pretreat any stains prior to laundering, including ring around the collar and cuffs.
  2. Wash shirts using cold water to prevent the placket stitching from shrinking, which is what creates that puckered look where the buttons and buttonholes are.

What is the best way to wash dress shirts?

Wash the shirts on a delicate cycle, using hot water for whites and light colors and cold water for dark colors. Be sure to use a high-quality detergent. Remove the shirt promptly from the washing machine when the cycle is over before wrinkles can set in.

What temperature do you wash dress shirts?

We recommend a cold water wash for darker fabrics, but warm or hot water is okay for white shirts or lighter colors. To minimize shrinkage, we recommend letting your shirt air dry on a sturdy hanger. If you do use a dryer, we recommend low heat and you should remove the shirt while it is still damp.

Should I unbutton shirt before washing?

While leaving button-up shirts buttoned in the washing machine may seem like a good way to preserve the shirt’s shape, it’s actually the opposite. Leaving clothes buttoned can loosen the threads around the buttonholes and stretch them out. Always take the time to unbutton your shirts before putting them in the washer.

How do you wash shirts in the washing machine?

Wash your cotton t shirts by hand or use your washing machine’s delicate cycle with cold water. Avoid putting any clothing made from natural fiber in the dryer. Instead, invest in a few folding tables and allow your cotton tees to dry flat. They can also be hung on hangers to dry.

Do you wash your clothes before taking them to the dry cleaners?

Well, not exactly — what happens when you send items like dress shirts, which are made from washable fabrics, out for cleaning is that they will be laundered in a washing machine with soap and water, just as you’d do at home or at a laundromat. Not everything you bring to the dry cleaner gets dry cleaned.

Should you button up shirts before washing?

Can a dry cleaner wash and press dress shirts?

But dry cleaning is not the only service that dry cleaners offer and, especially in the case of dress shirts, the dry cleaner will more often than not perform what’s called a “wash and press” service.

What kind of detergent should I use to wash a dress shirt?

Use a high quality detergent, like Woolite Complete, that is appropriate to the color of the shirt. Be sure not to use any detergents or cleaners that are chlorine based as these will cause discoloration to many shirt fabrics.

What happens if you leave a white dress shirt in the hamper?

Don’t leave dirty white shirts in the hamper for too long before washing. This can lead to premature yellowing of the collar band as any sweat and oils will have more time to set into the fabric of the shirt.

What causes a torn sleeve on a dress shirt?

The picture on the right shows a torn sleeve on a men’s dress shirt just above the sleeve placket. Closer inspection shows the area that isn’t torn but rather is worn; it’s a yarn failure caused by rubbing or chafing from the elbow of the wearer.

Do you take your shirts to the dry cleaners?

Even though you take your shirt to the “dry-cleaners”, they are most likely doing wash and press unless you are expressly asking them to dry clean ). This is our first choice. At around $1.50/shirt, this cleaning method is relatively cheap and easy and it keeps the shirts looking great.

Don’t leave dirty white shirts in the hamper for too long before washing. This can lead to premature yellowing of the collar band as any sweat and oils will have more time to set into the fabric of the shirt.

Use a high quality detergent, like Woolite Complete, that is appropriate to the color of the shirt. Be sure not to use any detergents or cleaners that are chlorine based as these will cause discoloration to many shirt fabrics.

Can You Wash a red dress shirt with OxiClean?

It’ll take a red shirt and it’ll make it pink, so be careful with OxiClean. A dress shirt that is lighter colored, in many cases, it helps a lot especially with anything around the collar. Now, when it comes to armpit stains if you get any type of yellow armpit stains, that’s often caused by your deodorant.